{
  "abstract": "Aging is accompanied by a progressive decline in intestinal barrier integrity, resulting in increased permeability to luminal microbes and microbial products and contributing to chronic low-grade inflammation (\"inflammaging\"). While epithelial and microbial changes have been extensively studied, the role of intestinal T cells as active regulators of barrier homeostasis during aging remains underappreciated. The gut harbors the largest population of T cells in the body, including diverse conventional and unconventional subsets that directly shape epithelial differentiation, mucus production, antimicrobial defense, and tight junction organization through cytokine-mediated signaling. In this review, we synthesize current evidence linking age-related alterations in intestinal T-cell composition and function to epithelial barrier decline. We focus on key T-cell subsets including Th1, Th17, Th22, regulatory T cells, γδ T cells, mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells, and intraepithelial lymphocytes, and discuss how aging-associated shifts in their cytokine profiles may disrupt the balance between barrier maintenance, repair, and inflammation. We further examine how T-cell dysfunctions characteristic of aging, including senescent-like and exhausted phenotypes, may exacerbate epithelial injury, microbial translocation, and systemic immune activation. Insights from age-accelerated conditions such as HIV/SIV infection and inflammatory bowel disease are used to inform emerging models of T-cell-driven barrier decline in older adults.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Section on Comparative Medicine, Department of Pathology, Medical Center Blvd, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, 27157, USA. Christina.Stevens@wfusm.edu",
    "Section on Comparative Medicine, Department of Pathology, Medical Center Blvd, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, 27157, USA",
    "Section on Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, USA",
    "College of Health and Medicine, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia"
  ],
  "article_type": "review",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 4,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Christina M. Stevens",
      "orcid": "0009-0005-9771-9007"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Cecilia R. Schaaf",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-9900-8392"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Theodore M. DeConne",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-9704-6499"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Kylie Kavanagh",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-8772-6186"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/5hqfd6fg4vdjs.bib",
  "cited_by": 5,
  "doi": "10.1007/s11357-026-02292-x",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "5hqfd6fg4vdjs",
  "issns": [
    "2152-4041",
    "2331-3773",
    "2509-2715",
    "2509-2723"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1007/s11357-026-02292-x",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "journal",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "2403|T-cell and B-cell Immunology"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7161253297",
  "pdf_url": "https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s11357-026-02292-x.pdf",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": "42141269",
  "published": "2026-05-16",
  "publisher": "Springer International Publishing",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/5hqfd6fg4vdjs.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-08T13:20:46Z",
      "native_id": "W7161253297",
      "source": "openalex",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1007/s11357-026-02292-x"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "openalex:2403|T-cell and B-cell Immunology",
      "subfield": "immunology"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Intestinal T cells in aging: implications for gut barrier integrity and inflammaging",
  "title_text": "Intestinal T cells in aging: implications for gut barrier integrity and inflammaging",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-08T13:20:46Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/5hqfd6fg4vdjs",
  "venue": "GeroScience",
  "versions": []
}